Vegan Naan Recipe. This is a super puffy soft Vegan Naan flatbread. Make plain Naans, Garlic Naans or Avocado Naan or stuffed. Bake it in an oven or cook on stove top. Cauliflower Stuffed Naan is like a paratha calzone. Dairy-free Indian flat bread Recipe

There are several types of indian flat breads.. some leavened like Naan, some unleavened like Roti/Chapati or stuffed unleavened like Parathas. The flatbreads that are served with everyday Indian food at home are generally simple Roti and Parathas. There are very few days when I make Naan at home, usually special occasions. Naan is a soft bread that uses yeast to leaven and generally contains yogurt, butter and other additions as eggs depending on the restaurant and the recipes. This vegan naan uses non dairy yogurt to make an amazing vegan version. It is soft, fluffy and a perfect carrier for all curries and spicy dishes. Naans can be baked or made on a skillet (tawa) on the stove. See all options in the recipe.

You can make your own vegan yogurt, or get plain non dairy versions from the store. Yogurt is one of the main reasons the Naan stays soft and the reason for the authentic texture. Additional fat/oil can also help keep it soft, but the texture will be slightly different. I also often use mashed avocado(make sure to use very ripe mashed avocado), to sub the yogurt. The texture is slightly different and obviously the color. But it makes for a sturdy, soft and fluffy flatbread. Make this Vegan Naan and let me know in the comments how they turned out!

Serve the Naan breads with Curries and Dals. See video above the Recipe widget. Let me know in the comments how it turned out and also rate the recipe!

Yogurt Sub: If you cannot use Vegan yogurt, subs like coconut cream, cashew cream, silken tofu, mashed ripe avocado, softened or thinned out vegan sour cream will work. Start with less flour and add more as needed to make a soft and slightly sticky dough. Proceed with the rest of the recipe.

If you plan to use thin non dairy milk (you can use it since naan is a bread after all), let the dough rest for longer for the first rise (overnight the fridge, then on the counter for an hour to come to room temp, then make flatbreads), for that additional moisture and flavor. Eventually you can make the flatbread with just flour yeast, salt, water and oil, Or just flour, yogurt, water, oil and salt (no yeast). The recipe on this post is one of the common traditional versions for the soft, chewy, moist texture and flavor.

Oil-free: You can make these oil free, use more yogurt to sub the oil and keep the dough sticky/more on the wet side. Once cooked, immediately store them under a heavy towel to retain moisture as they will tend to dry out without the oil.

To store the Naans, store the dough or naan as you would Pizza dough or rolled out Pizza. After the first rise, divide the dough into individual balls, coat in oil and freeze in sealed ziplock. To use, let it thaw for an hour at room temp, roll out and make Naan breads. The dough can be rolled out and cooked partially and frozen as well. To reheat, brush with some oil or vegan butter and reheat on a skillet to char.

Cooking time and appearance depends on the oven and pan used. You will have a better idea after making the first Naan in terms of how you like yours, cooked to a dark char spots or golden like a pita. You can also put the rolled out Naan bread on a grill. Grill one side, flip and cook the other side. Make a Naan Pizza by topping it with Indian Curries or Roasted Veggies and vegan cheese.

3/4cup(6.5 oz) plain non dairy yogurt, unsweetened or lightly sweetened, at room temperature for plain naan, Or use 3/4 cup very well mashed very ripe Avocado for Avocado Naan

1 to 2Tbspcanola or coconut oil for cooking

Nigella seeds for garnish

Instructions

Vegan Naan Dough:

In a large mixing bowl, pour warm water and stir in the sugar. Sprinkle yeast on the water and let sit for 10 minutes or until frothy.

In another bowl, combine, the flour with salt, baking powder and baking soda.

Add 3.5 cups of the flour mixture, 3 Tbsp oil and 3/4 cup yogurt to the yeast bowl. Mix well to combine. Add more flour a few Tablespoons at a time to make a soft smooth dough. Knead in the bowl or on a floured surface for 3 to 4 minutes. (For Avocado Naan, start with 3 cups of flour. If your avocado was not ripe or moist enough, you might need some water while kneading.).

Place the dough in the bowl. Drizzle a Tbsp of oil on the dough. Roll the dough to coat in oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or heavy kitchen towel and let sit to rise for 1.5 hours or until it doubles.

Punch the dough down and use a Tbsp or more flour if needed to work for half a minute. Divide the dough into 8 pieces. Roll the dough balls lightly in flour and place on parchment. Cover with towel or another parchment and let sit for 20 to 30 minutes.

Take each piece of dough, and roll/shape into 8 to 9 inch oval shape. roll and handle lightly to keep the dough airy. Dust lightly with flour to help with the rolling.

Spritz the top of the Naan with water. Sprinkle Nigella seeds. Then brush or spray oil.

To Cook the Naan

Oven Method

Pre-heat the oven to 450 degrees F. Place a pizza stone in the oven and let heat for half an hour.

Place as many breads as the stone can accommodate. Bake 2-3 minutes till the breads puffs and top gets golden. Broil for half a minute to crisp/char.

Stove top (Tawa Naan)

Use any cast iron girdle/skillet/grill pan, which can withstand high heat. Heat it on medium high until heated evenly.

Place the naan with bottom on the pan.

Cover with a lid (optional) and let cook on medium high till it starts to puff. 2 to 3 minutes. Flip and cook for another minute.

To get charred Naan, hold the Naan directly over the gas flame with tongs for a few seconds to cook and char some spots.

Serve hot, topped with vegan butter or canola oil, with any Indian curry, Daal and veggies. To store for a short time, wrap in a clean kitchen towel. To store for longer, cool completely and place in an airtight bag. Keep on the counter for upto 2 days and in the refrigerator for upto 7 days.

For garlic Naan

Spritz water on the rolled Naan. Press 2 tsp of finely chopped garlic and a Tbsp chopped cilantro on the top along with the nigella seeds. Spray oil on the garlic. Cook according to instructions.

Recipe Notes

Yogurt Subs:Coconut cream, cashew cream, silken tofu, Mashed ripe avocado, softened or thinned out vegan sour cream will work. Start with less flour and add more as needed to make a soft and slightly sticky dough. Proceed with the rest of the recipe.

Dissolve active dry yeast and sugar in 1/4 cup lukewarm water and let it sit for 10 minutes or until frothy.

Add salt and baking powder to 2 cups flour and mix well.

Add the oil and yogurt Or avocado and mix into the flour.

Add the water/yeast mixture and knead. Add a 1/4 cup water at a time to make into soft dough.

Knead for 5-6 minutes until smooth and non sticky. Place in greased container, spritz top with oil and let rise for 2 hours or until doubled.

Knead the dough for a minute, use a little flour to help reduce stickyness, and divide the dough into 5 equal parts.

Take each piece of dough, one at a time, and roll/shape into 8-inch oval shape. Dust lightly with flour to help with the rolling.

Cook:

Oven Method:

Heat the oven to 450 degrees F with pizza stone for at least half an hour.

Next turn the oven to high broil.

Before putting the Naan in oven, pat some sesame or nigella seeds on the top. Lightly spritz/spray the naan on both sides with water and place onto your baking/pizza stone into the oven.

Bake 2-3 minutes till it puffs and top gets golden.

Serve hot, topped with vegan butter or olive oil.

Stove top:

Use any large pan/skillet which can withstand high heat. Heat it on medium high heat until hot.

Pat some nigella, sesame or carom seeds on top and spritz the bottom with a little water.

Place the naan with bottom on the pan.

Cover and let cook on medium high till it starts to puff.

Flip after 1-1.5 minutes, and cook for half a minute( for pita style)

If you like a charred Naan, then instead of flipping to cook the other side, hold the uncooked side of Naan over the flame with tongs for a few seconds to cook and char some spots.

Serve hot, topped with vegan butter or olive oil with any Indian curry, Daal lentils, vegetables, salad and pickle.

For garlic Naan:

Press finely chopped garlic and cilantro on the top along with the seeds of choice and roll the rolling pin over it, so everything gets embedded in the dough and then proceed with the cooking step as above.

Mix everything and use. If the stuffing feels too damp, you can dry roast it for 2 minutes or microwave for a minute so the veggies absorb the moisture. The moisture is not a problem in Naans, but creates rolling problems when used for parathas(unleavened flat bread), because the dough is rolled quite thin.

Roll out the dough into a circle and place the stuffing like a calzone on one side, half inch away from the edge.

Apply a little water on the edge, Fold the other side and seal. press edges well.

Roll out this semicircle a little to form an oval and also distribute the stuffing.

Proceed to cook like regular Naan above.

Phew long post.. I had my dentist appointment yesterday.. darn these cavity prone teeth.. so been eating soups and daals since then, and super bored of it.. now thinking of what else to eat! Hope you all are having super fun last few days of 2011!

Those stuffed naan look awesome!! I’ve been wanting to try parathas for a long time now but I think they scare me a little. I love the cauliflower filling in yours. I really want to try them – I bet my kids would love them too 😀

Cara, yes i will make these for u! Actually i have a glutenfree similar thing.. so I can make those! the uttapams will get posted next week!

Caitlin, theres a similar glutenfree veggie loaded skillet bread called Uttapam, made with Dosa batter(fermented lentil and rice batter). its like a sourdough version of the stuffed Naan!You can get the batter in an Indian store and mix in the stuffing and make it on a skillet. a Video here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dsGQ7S9binYor wait for my post next week:)

haha! I don’t think I commented on here yet, unless you said thank you to another Isobelle who commented?

Anyway, I have never heard of stuffed naan! That’s SO neat!

I used to love naan when I ate gluten. There are a lot of people living in England that have immigrated from India and there are so many indian food restaurants. My family would eat curry constantly, but I never liked it. I just liked the naan. I could never handle spice.I’m thinking about making curry tomorrow though.

You have to try making a gluten free naan or something! Please!?You’re so good at making breads, so I have to believe that you’d be a magic gluten free bread baker too!

Thanks TP, yep i like the stuffed ones the best! its like a nice filling snack!

[email protected] meet [email protected]:) the first comment.Yes, i made a decent gf bread loaf the other day. Put up a picture on my facebook page. once i make good enough sandwich loaf, i will know what to do with flat breads!

you should try chili free spice mixes.. they just give the nice flavor without making the curry/gravy hot.

i wanted to comment on your posts from a long time. the day i saw the avocado naan, i was like … wow… brilliant.

i just could not comment, because of some web glitches. the comment form asks me to use the open id account and i made one, and now i don’t even remember where… and i am so stupid, i just could not see the google option above… :-0

I tried the avocado version – 2 c flour and 3/4 c water, right? It came out more like a batter. I had to add more and more flour until it balled up, but then by that time the avocado was lost as was the balance of flavours that I am sure you intended. Any thoughts on why this was, or am I an enigmatic naan-maker?

I had a similar problem. I used 2 cups plain white flour and my dough turned out really, really sticky. I’ve added more flour but I think I’ve probably ruined it. Maybe naan dough is meant to be really sticky and I shouldn’t have added the extra flour? I’m keeping my fingers crossed it will still turn out!

if you knead too much it can keep getting stickier. just add more flour. its not ruined, extra flour or water just add more volume to the dough. they will still cook up fine. i just updated the recipe to the one i have tested multiple times. please try with those measurements!

Yes, you can refrigerate the dough for upto 2 days. Bring to room temperature and use. Any longer than that and the naan will get a very sour taste 🙂If you are freezing, then freeze the cooked naan between parchment in an sirtigh container. thaw and broil for a minute or so to refresh them.

thank you for this recipe – it ignited my long lost love of naan! I made the garlic variation last night and it was so delicious and perfect that I may try the stuffed version later this week (potatoes and peas, of course!)I really love your blog – it caught my eye on Pinterest awhile back when I stumbled upon your recipe for buffalo millet sandwiches. I haven’t tried that one yet, but oh my, I still drool when I even think of the photos in that post.Thanks again – will be back for sure! 🙂

I just made your naan yesterday and it was delicious! I made the garlic one and then stuffed one with some herbed cashew cheese and it turned out amazing. I’ve secretly always wanted an Indian grandmother or mother who could teach me how to make the best curries or naan. Since I wasn’t blessed with that, I turned to you 🙂 Your recipes are amazing and so easy to follow. So happy to have found you blog 🙂

Mmmm these look absolutely amazing and i would love to have a go at them – but is there any substitute for the oil, or would I be OK leaving it out altogether? I have to cook for someone who must eat an extremely low-fat diet 🙁

Hi Richa, I tried this Naan for Dinner last night, It was so good, My hubby ate 4 of them and he said this is the best homemade naan he has ever had, i said thanks to Richa! Thank you for the wonderful recipes, can this be made entirely with whole wheat flour??

I’m just venturing into making my own naan bread and was wondering if you think I could substitute the white/baking flours for brown rice flour or a mix of GF flours? This looks splendid though I’d like to avoid white processed flours.

I just made the original recipe (5 naans) with avocado and OMG they came out perfect! I’m so excited about this recipe. We’re eating it with a yummy curry and vegetable stew. They look absolutely beautiful and a light tint of green which I love too. Next time I’m going to try incorporating garlic. Thank you SO much for this recipe!

I’m a longtime vegan traveling to Dehradun, India in two weeks. I’ll be staying at a Buddhist nunnery for a month. I don’t know if the meals will be Indian or Tibetan and I want to avoid dairy and eggs and will be taking most my meals at the nunnery. The nun I’m traveling with there is from America and though she understands what vegetarian is she keeps mixing up vegan and gluten free. My friends who are not vegan basically rolled their eyes the one and only time I brought up the concern. They can’t believe that I’d be even thinking of food, out of everything to worry about with a trip this huge. However, I do tend to sweat the mundane stuff and not worry about big things 🙂

I thought I might just avoid dals that look creamy and rich and politly (is it impolite to?) avoid butter tea. It sounds like it’s served a few times a day.

Are there any Indian dishes that traditionally use oil for cooking, not ghee? Is ghee as commonly used for cooking as I’m thinking? Am I safe eating parathas? Veggies? The nunnery eats a grain heavy diet, is all I know.

I understand that food varies from part to part of the country but any insight you have is far more than I do at the moment!

Hmm, it would depend on the place really. Generally everything should be vegetarian. I think you can talk to the kitchen once you get there and ask them for a general menu or dish names and ask them to use oil instead of ghee wherever possible, coconut milk instead of milk and cream and so on. Once they tell you which dishes already are veganand which they might make vegan for you, you should be set. Often people would anyway use oil in the dals, veggie dishes etc as ghee would be costlier. Ghee is used instead of oil in many dishes, but as i said it would depend on the place. Explain to the that you would like it without dairy and explain what all is dairy – milk, butter, ghee, cream, paneer.

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